Peaches

New column up at the Register Star.

While Georgia is known as the “Peach State,” I’ve tasted some darn good peaches here in New York. The local peach crop is now in full swing, so be sure to grab some.

The best place to get a peach is to pick one right from a tree. My friend Douglas said that he never buys supermarket peaches (unless they are local) because they go from being rock hard to mushy.

Peaches bound for the supermarket are cultivated for a long shelf life and a pretty red color. Flavor gets a back seat. They are also refrigerated, which can turn an unripe peach mealy.

Apparently we’ve been having that problem since the late 19th century. This from a New York Times editorial dated Aug. 23, 1895, written in response to an article claiming California peaches were of poor quality: A defense of California peaches – those sent to New York are poor because picked too soon, by Charles Vogelgesang:

The fruit is picked only half ripened, thus, in the first place, depriving it of the nourishment and sunshine necessary to give it its full flavor and sweetness. Consequently, it ripens without those essentials and, as I will admit, with very poor results as we usually find it in New York markets and thereby the fruit is placed at a sorry disadvantage when compared with that allowed to ripen on the trees and shipped comparatively few miles before reaching the consumer.

I always search out organic peaches. The Environmental Working Group, a not-for-profit research organization, has a list of the most pesticide contaminated fruits and vegetables, called the “Dirty Dozen.” Peaches top that list. They have the highest pesticide residue out of the 42 fruits and vegetables they tested. Pesticides easily migrate into the fruit through the soft skin of the peach. Since local peaches don’t have to travel far, farmers can get by with using less pesticide. Ask your peach farmer about his/her pesticide practices and/or shop for the organic variety.

Go to the Register Star for Peach Cobbler and Grilled Shrimp with Peaches and Bok Choy in a Spicy Peanut Sauce recipes.

Sour Cherry Pies To Go

I look forward to the first weeks of July. Not for the fireworks or summer cookouts, but for the sour cherries. I patiently wait for the sweet cherries to come and go and keep my eye out for the sour ones. Once they are ready, I pick as many as a person can reasonably haul. I pit them, divvy them up into Ziploc bags, freeze them and hoard them for the rest of the year. They are, by far, my favorite fruit.

While cherry picking one day, my husband and I overheard a woman talking about the health benefits of cherries. I imagined a patent medicine man from the 1800s: “Yes that’s right folks, just five cherries a day will cure your gout, banish your back pain, arrest your arthritis! It’s a guaranteed genuine natural elixir!”

Turns out that my fictitious barker was spouting some truth. Sour cherries contain anthocyanins, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. They are purported to relieve painful inflammatory conditions such as gout and arthritis. Plus a cup of fresh sour cherries has 40% of your daily recommended allowance of vitamin A, 26% of vitamin C; 2% of calcium and 3% of iron.

Growing up, we had three cherry trees on the farm. There was a black cherry tree a few yards from our backdoor and two sour cherry trees on the far side of the field beside the garage. I would happily climb through the barbed-wire fence and cross the field to fill my pail with cherries. Then, with little supervision, I would make a sour cherry cheesecake, using a pre-made gram cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese.

I have long since lost that recipe but have happily found many other sour cherry recipes. Here are a couple of my favorite ones.

I could eat sour cherry pie filling with a spoon, though it is a little more civilized to eat it in a pie. Here’s a version you can throw in a lunch box. The recipe is adapted from a cherry turnover recipe from www.recipegirl.com who adapted it from The Art & Soul of Baking, which probably adapted it from some place else.

Ingredients
For Crust
11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8-ounce package of cold cream cheese, roughly cut into pieces
I teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

For Filling
2 cups pitted & halved fresh sour cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 Teaspoon salt

For Assembly:
1 large egg yolk
2 Tablespoon milk
Sugar

Method
Crust-
You can make this either using a pastry blender or a food processor
-Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl, mix for a few seconds.
- Cut in the cold butter pieces with pastry blender and mix, until the mixture looks like crumbs (or pulse with food processor).
-Add vinegar and cut in the cream cheese and mix until a ball forms ( or pulse quickly with food processor until a ball has formed).
-Turn the clump of dough onto floured surface and knead gently to bring dough together. This dough is forgiving but try not to over work it.
-Flatten into a 7-inch square.
-Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Filling
-Pit cherries and place in medium saucepan.
-Mix cherries with sugar, cornstarch and salt.
-Heat over medium until juices have thickened.

Assemble
-Heat oven to 375°F
-Place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll into a square that is roughly 15×15 inches. The dough will be stiff and a little hard to work.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut into nine 5-inch squares.
- Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with butter.
- Place the dough squares onto prepared baking sheets. Place a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cherries onto each square.
- Whisk the egg yoke and milk together
- Brush edges of pastry square with egg wash. Carefully fold into a triangle, keeping the cherries enveloped in the dough. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges together and seal them.
-Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
-Using a sharp knife, carefully cut two-three slits in the top of each turnover to allow steam to escape during baking.
-Place baking sheets in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the sheets halfway through.
-Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool. Serve warm with ice cream or at room temperature. I like mine plain. I want as little as possible getting between me and that sour cherry pie filling!

Yield: 9

Cherry Garcia Knock-off

I’m pretty sure I’ve cracked the Cherry Garcia code with this one.

Ingredients
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cups hot milk (whole is, of course, best)
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 cups heavy cream (or half and half)
1/3 cup chopped sweet cherries
1/3 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or small chocolate chips)

Method
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended (no heat).
-Gradually whisk in hot milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens slightly about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and strain with a fine-mesh sieve (you may have a few eggy parts).
-Stir cherries, cream and almond extract. Refrigerator until chilled.
-Add chocolate chunks.
- Place in ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- If you prefer a firm ice cream, transfer ice cream to a plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours other wise, eat up!

Sweet Pea Ice Cream with Orange Zest


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Excerpt from my column in the Register Star and Daily Mail:
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This is for the adventurous ice cream eater. The flavor is a combination between orange sherbet and green tea ice cream. It makes a nice bright ending to a summer meal. You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe.

Ingredients
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups hot milk (whole or skim)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
1 cups heavy cream (or half and half)
1 cup shelled sweet peas
Zest from one medium orange

Method
- Place snap peas in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove peas and plunge into ice water, drain and puree peas in a blender with cream.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended (no heat).
-Gradually whisk in hot milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens slightly about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
-Stir in pea-cream mixture and vanilla extract. Refrigerator until chilled.
-Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Use a spoon to push the mixture through. All that should be left are bits of peas.
-Add orange zest.
- Place in ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- If you prefer a firm ice cream, transfer ice cream to a plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. We can never wait that long.

Rhubarb Sorbet

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This first appeared in the Register Star and Daily Mail.
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I was very excited when Otto from Otto’s Market gave me a big bunch of rhubarb. I had been asking him every week whether his rhubarb was ready. Finally it was. Spring is here indeed! The stalks were a beautiful crimson and green. I was especially happy about the windfall because the rhubarb I planted last year in my shady backyard is currently all leaves and no stalk…not what you want in rhubarb (see below).

I love rhubarb for two reasons. One, I love anything tart, and rhubarb is indeed tart. Two, I love it because it’s unexpected. Botanically, rhubarb is a vegetable but it is used like a fruit. It looks like celery, but sure doesn’t taste like it.

To prepare, wash well, cut the tops and bottoms off (as you would with celery). The leaves are mildly toxic, so don’t eat them! (Yes, this is why my rhubarb plant is rather unfortunate). You’ll notice that it has a stringy outer layer. If you chop it finely, there is no need to peel this layer but you can peel it if the stalk is particularly thick.

Whenever I see rhubarb at the market, I pick up enough to make a few dishes now and extra to freeze (wash and chop before freezing). There is nothing better than a spring-like pie in the dead of winter!

Rhubarb Sorbet
This is a nice refreshing sorbet with a pretty dark pink color. The tartness of rhubarb and sweetness of strawberries is a classic combination. The fresh mint adds a refreshing layer. This sorbet is more sweet than tart. Adjust the sugar to taste. If you want a light and fluffy sorbet, whip an egg white and fold it into the mixture before freezing.

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cups sugar
3-4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1/4 cup sliced strawberries
5-10 fresh mint leaves plus extra for garnish

Method
-Combine the water, sugar, rhubarb, strawberries in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender.
-Add the mint leaves.
- Refrigerate and let cool completely.
-Puree in a blender.
-Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn until frozen (note, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, place mixture in lidded container and freeze.

Boo & Bing: Not ready for their close-up

Maple Marshmallows

My friend Virginia asked me if I had ever made marshmallows. She was looking for marshmallows without “all that junk” the store- bought varieties have and didn’t want to shell out 10 bucks for the artisanal ones. I hadn’t made them before, but Fairlight, the awe-inspiring baker at Otto’s Market, makes them about every week. She assured me that they were easy, so I decided to give them a whirl.

Even though corn syrup was invented in 1882 (so it falls within my 19th century ingredient criteria), I decided to use maple syrup instead. I also tried a batch substituting honey for the syrup. I thought the honey flavor was over-powering. You can substitute corn syrup or use any combination of syrups. I have some Steen’s cane syrup I want to try next.

Historically, marshmallows were made from the marsh mallow root, which has properties similar to gelatin. I would love to try to make them using the root, but today I’ll keep it simple.

You’ll need a candy thermometer and a stand mixer. You could use a hand mixer but you’ll need to hold it for about 15 minutes. Marshmallows have been being made since before the invention of electricity, so I suppose you could also use a whisk and get a good forearm workout.

I used these sites for references:
Cooking for Engineers (love this site!), Martha Stewart and this nifty blog, Brownie Points (this site has a nice pdf of a recipe).

Ingredients
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (one box)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cornstarch (or powdered sugar)

Directions

1. Line 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper, be sure the sides are covered with the paper. Lightly oil it then generously coat with cornstarch or powdered sugar. Fairlight suggests using cornstarch if you plan to store them for any length of time.

2. Put 3/4 cup of water into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin into the water and set aside to let soften (this is called blooming the gelatin, which must be named after Mr. Oscar Bloom who invented a device for measuring the rigidity of gelatin).

3. Put sugar, maple syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

4. Once the sugar is dissolved, cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238º F on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.

5. Using a whisk attachment on your mixer, start to mix the blooming gelatin. With the mixer on low, slowly add the hot syrup to the gelatin mixture. Remember that stuff is 238º F so be careful!

6. After you have all of the hot syrup mixed in, gradually raise the speed to high. Beat until the mixture is very stiff, about 11 minutes.

7. Pour into the prepared dish and smooth with a lightly oiled spatula. Leave uncovered until firm (about 3 hours but overnight is ok).

8. Sift cornstarch (or powered sugar) on a cutting board. Turn the marshmallows onto the board. Dust a pizza cutter or knife with cornstarch and cut them into 1 inch squares (bigger or smaller if you want).

9. Toss the squares in cornstarch (or confectioners’ sugar). Be sure they are well coated. They will be very sticky if they aren’t. Store in an airtight container for several weeks.

Hot chocolate anyone?

Spicy Dark-Chocolate Pudding

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat pudding every day. Like my other resolutions, I’ve already slacked off, but today, I’m getting back on track…at least on the eating pudding part.

I don’t know why anyone would ever bother with pre-packaged pudding. Homemade pudding is easy, delicious, and you most likely have everything you need in your cupboard.

2 cups of milk
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of vanilla (or almond extract)
1/2 cup of dark chocolate bar chopped-up (or chocolate chips)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional, this will make it noticeably spicy, if you only want a hint of spice, just add a pinch)

-Add the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt and cornstarch to pan.
-Heat over medium heat until it boils (about five minutes). Stir constantly.
-Continue to heat for another minute or two, until it starts to thicken.
-Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and the chocolate bar.
-Pour into four containers. Eat warm or chill. If you chill it, place either plastic wrap or wax paper directly on the surface to keep a skin from forming on it.

This version makes a rich, dark pudding. You can make it more of a milk chocolate pudding by decreasing the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup, increasing the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons and using milk chocolate instead of dark.

If you want something really special, top it with fresh whipped cream. One of my husband’s New Year’s resolutions is to eat more whipped cream…it’s going to be a great year…

Happy New Year!

Crystallized Ginger & Syrup

Here’s another idea for a homemade gift. You can knock out two gifts with one recipe—crystallized ginger and ginger syrup.

Peel one to two medium sized fresh ginger roots.

Slice into pieces about 1/8 inch thick. You should have about a cup of ginger.

Bring three cups of water and two cups of sugar to boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved.

Add the ginger and turn the heat down. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, until the ginger is tender and translucent. Be sure to watch it. If the heat is too high, the syrup can burn quickly.

Drain all but about a tablespoon of the syrup (be sure to keep the syrup!). Return ginger to pan and heat while constantly stirring until all the water evaporates.

Remove from heat and toss with a cup of sugar.

Place ginger on wax paper and let cool. Be sure to separate the pieces or you’ll have a giant ginger blob.

Store in an airtight container and keep at room temperature.

Crystallized ginger is tasty in most baked goods. Epicurious has a slew of recipes.

Keep the syrup refrigerated. Add a splash of it to tea or any beverage you want to spice up.

Ginger martinis anyone?